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hestiaflames · 1 month

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the enigma of jeremy knox

after one full read and revisiting some of my annotations (and shoutout to @andrewminyardslawyer for this collection of passages) I have attempted to collect my observations and conclusions/theories about the enigma named Jeremy Knox

please tell me your interpretations

Jeremy’s Dad

Mr. Wilshire is Jeremy’s stepfather (we know from "Bryson is in the sitting room with Mr. Wilshire" and then Jeremy referring to him as his stepfather. I was confused about this at the beginning lol)

This means that Knox is Jeremy’s dad’s name. Why doesn’t he want to be called Knox? Is it the reminder of divorce or his family drama when he’d rather not think about it?

Speaking of Jeremy’s dad: "Dad's been stationed [in Europe] a couple times". Most likely military, then. The tense (“Dad has been”) suggests that his dad is still in his life, not dead or estranged (otherwise I’d expect “Dad was stationed” instead). Unless perhaps Jeremy is going out of his way to hide it? He does avoid talking about his family, but he brings this up unprompted and I get the sense that Laila and Cat would know something that big so I don’t think this is a lie

Jeremy maintaining a relationship with his dad could certainly be a point of conflict with his stepfather and siblings, but doesn't seem to fit the "freshman year exy banquet scandal" we're catching wind of. It's possible his dad was involved, but I don't think it's where my money would go.

Jeremy’s Siblings

Cat tells Jean that Jeremy has one sister and two brothers. Twice we hear Bryson referred to as “the older brother” and Annalise as his younger sister, so the siblings are: Bryson, Jeremy, and Annalise-and-unnamed-brother-in-unknown-order.

Of course, we must address “Jeremy has–three” and Jean “idly wondering what she’d changed at the last minute and why”. It sounds like the number changed (unless I’m missing a possibility here?), so why?

Step or half siblings? There is a stepfather in the mix, so she could have increased it to include step or half siblings, but I lean towards not this. Jeremy says that “the Knox family was duty-bound to dress up and smile bright for [the] cameras”, which would be odd to say if his siblings weren’t all Knoxes. Also, Cat tells Jean this after telling him that her two oldest siblings are half siblings, so imo it would be an odd thing to hide on Jeremy’s behalf

Otherwise, I think we’re talking about a death or estrangement. The unnamed younger brother, probably (though perhaps a fourth sibling). Now this is “broke the family in half” or “destroyed the family” territory. “broke the family in half” could be a death but almost sounds more like a schism, perhaps between Dad & Unnamed Brother and the rest of the family? Or perhaps Jeremy&Dad?

Jeremy & Bryson. What is going on here?

Pretty much the first thing we learn about Jeremy is that he is avoiding his older brother, leaving without his keys to avoid the possibility of an interaction.

Jeremy says that Bryson always spends his summers at home, and also specifically says he’ll be staying at Cat & Laila’s over the summer but then only over on weekends during the school year.

The conversation he has with Lucas: “Do you feel safe with him there?” “He’s my brother” “That’s not what I asked” could be read as him being protective of his teammate, but also could be implying that Jeremy knows what it’s like to feel unsafe around his brother. Learning there have been physical altercations wouldn’t come from left field.

The Fall Banquet Exy Scandal

Speaking of breaking the family in half, what happened at this fall banquet?

Annalise says “Overdue for a new scandal… End the way you started”, so it happened his freshman year. She went out of her way to forget everything about Exy and can’t forgive Jeremy for continuing to play, so she seems to blame Exy as much as she blames Jeremy.

If it did in fact have to do with the younger brother, did he get hurt badly or die playing? If a high schooler died playing Exy three years before, would we have heard about it from Jean or Neil? Our other two narrators are not what you’d call tuned into the outside world all the time. On the other hand, yes Jeremy compartmentalizes even in his narration, but you’re telling me it never crosses his mind while playing a very rough sport if his brother was severely injured? It’s possible, but I’m not sold on this theory. It also wouldn’t explain why it’s tied specifically to the banquet.

The other thought I have is that something happened at that banquet that was some kind of PR mess. The family-in-politics obsession with being a “picture-perfect family” and Jeremy being unwelcome at dinner after bleaching his hair support this, but the Trojan reputation doesn’t. Whatever happened would have to walk the line between totally unacceptable to the family but also not a blemish on the Trojan reputation. Jeremy is made captain and Jean (who knows who he is and would be aware of a Trojan scandal even if it happened before his freshman year, since he was in the Nest and with Riko and Kevin) doesn’t know about it. Kevin is obsessed with the Trojans and with Jeremy, and Jeremy’s teammates (besides Lucas’ almost-comment about him being gay) show nothing but respect for him and his leadership.

I’ve seen speculation that it could have to do with Jeremy being gay, but this would again seem to contradict the fact that Jean and especially Kevin would know, wouldn’t they? I also don’t think Nora’s gonna do that. She wrote gay, trans, and polyamorous Trojans, which you could argue are accepted because it’s the Trojans, but even Jean doesn’t blink about Cody’s pronouns. It doesn’t really make sense to me that she’d pointedly avoid doing 2007-appropriate homophobia and then turn around and do 2007-appropriate homophobia. Possible? Yes. Do I think it’s gonna happen? No.

Cops

“There was little to no chance he’d know them, and no reason they’d recognize him, but Jeremy kept his gaze forward and mouth shut until they were past”. He’s afraid to be recognized. Is it because of a previous interaction (from the banquet? the scandal?) or because of his family? Is he apprehensive about them reacting to him, or something getting back to his family?

Later Rhemann offers to send Jeremy away before bringing the cops in after Jean is attacked. Jean has no idea why Rhemann is suggesting it, but it means that whatever Jeremy’s fear of cops is, he knows about it and also assumes Jeremy told Jean. This doesn’t seem like the kind of thing that Just Comes Up with your coach, so it’s probably based on a prior experience in college. The freshman year banquet again sounds like the likely explanation here.

Jeremy and Mental Health

Jean says “Maybe [Grayson] will also kill himself” and Jeremy replies “That isn’t a joke”, with “unexpected ferocity”. Cat winces. This could be Jeremy being well adjusted (A little before this, Cat says, “That’s not a thing well-adjusted people say”, after all), but his tone and Cat’s reaction makes it seem a lot more personal than Jeremy just saying “Suicide jokes aren’t funny”.

Guys, I think Jeremy’s mystery brother might’ve killed himself. If he played Exy and was bullied or maybe got seriously injured and later killed himself, and cops showed up when it happened, and it was somehow brought up during that banquet and Jeremy said something or reacted somehow that caused a familial rift… I think this is my leading theory.

Initially I didn’t think anything of “There’s been an accident”, but I wonder if maybe that’s how the news was broken to him about his brother. Or if his family insists on calling it “an accident” and maybe what happened at the banquet was Jeremy acknowledging that he doesn’t think it was.

“The right therapist can be legit life changing–just look at Jeremy for proof”, Cat says. We knew from the first Jeremy chapter that he was in therapy and talked about his family, but “life changing” speaks to the severity of all of it. His mom picking the therapist suggests that either he was off the rails enough for her to intervene (more likely mental health issues than something like drug use, again given the Trojans) or that she’s more supportive or sympathetic to him than his siblings and step father. We hear few references to his mom; just a passing comment about her bookkeeper, a mention that she makes the kids go to fundraisers and other events, and that she’s allergic to dogs. Oh, we also know that his mother didn’t hit him. We know he doesn’t get on with his sister or older brother and is “permanently on his stepfather’s bad side”, but very little at all about his relationship with his mom.

Miscellaneous

About the floozies, and I actually don’t think this is Jeremy backstory. Cat says it was “in response to some drama my freshman year”. She’s a rising junior, so that would’ve been Jeremy’s junior year. Jeremy’s scandalous exy banquet was his freshman year, so I think this is Catalina backstory, not Jeremy’s. I am obsessed with the fact that the queer Trojans nicknamed themselves the floozy line. Icons

One other line that seems potentially telling to me is, “What’s Grandpa think of this investment of yours”. What did Annalise mean by investment? Jeremy putting his time into exy? His use of money? The last thing Jeremy said was about Jean, could he be the “investment”? I think it’s most likely about exy, maybe how his commitment to it either reflects badly on the family or is seen as a silly endeavor

god, i could not be more excited for tsc2, or for the speculation in the meantime

#the sunshine court #tsc #tsc spoilers #the sunshine court spoilers #jeremy knox #jean moreau #usc trojans #aftg #all for the game #my post #aftg meta #tsc meta

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negative-speedforce · 3 months

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Ricki challenges your OCs to wear the Discowing costume!

who pulls it off? who hates it? lol

Would wear it without question: Jay, Ember, Arya, Kyle, Jacob, Antonio, Reggie, Cory, Pippa, Liah, Reyna, Matt, Vanessa, Dolores, Dori, Ellis

Would wear it if they had incentive (monetary or otherwise): Siv, Gina, Esme, Cat, Max, Meredith, Hyun-Ki, Qiara, Athena

Wouldn't under any circumstance: Hailey, Cassandra, Eric, Khalil, Ameerah, Rania, Director Hawke, Kelsie, Torryn, Onnie, Jessi, Marie, Soraya, Thalia, Laila, Pyrrha, Aldrich, Samira, Sohelia, Victorie, Kayla

Siv: Would wear it in exchange for money, but not otherwise. She would probably look pretty stupid in it and take it off as soon as possible.

Jay: Would think it was unironically awesome and probably try to take it home because he liked it.

Gina: Would wear it in exchange for A VERY SUBSTANTIAL amount of money, since insulin is expensive and her brother needs it to survive. She'd hate every second of it though.

Esme: Would wear it for the lols, would probably look pretty stupid but the social media clout would be worth it.

Arya: Would wear the suit and shapeshift into Nightwing just to cause problems and blame them on him.

Ember: Would actually manage to slay SO HARD in it, because it's so campy it'd look so good paired with a long wig and stiletto heels. They lipsync to "Call Me Maybe" at her club and make a bunch of money.

Cat: Would wear it in exchange for money, even though it's humiliating she's a total homebody so no one's going to see it anyway.

Kyle: Would unironically have fun wearing it even though he looked stupid, because Kyle still has a sense of joyous whimsy.

Max: Would wear it in exchange for money, intel, or parts for his mech suits, and then proceed to pair it with a cape because apparently to him it makes him look like Megamind.

Jacob: Would wear it to make his kids laugh and to bring back memories of the 70s

Antonio: Would think it was the funniest shit and would wear it to school to make his friends laugh

Reggie: Would wear it to make xer friends laugh, wouldn't actually like it that much in real life but it would be too funny of an opportunity to pass up

Cory: Would unironically be able to style it (sorry Ricki it might come back altered and covered in clips, frills, buttons, and glitter)

Meredith: Would wear it in exchange for intel or technology that could help her achieve its goals, and would stay the whole time in Flashtime because she's so humiliated and she doesn't want anyone to see it like that.

Pippa: Has a terrible time setting boundaries with people, so she'd wear it even though she didn't really like it, just because it's hard for her to say 'no' to people.

Hyun-Ki: Would wear it onstage because it's campy enough to pass as some kind of costume

Liah: It isn't really her style, but she has trouble saying no to people so she'd just do what Ricki asked even if it wasn't really her thing.

Qiara: Would wear it for the LOLs, just to annoy Captain Al-Sharif because it's kinda an eyesore.

Athena: Would wear it in exchange for money, since that's Athena's favorite thing. Fair warning, it will probably come back altered and at least 3 times sluttier, and Ricki might end up almost getting vivisected.

Reyna: Would unironically think it's the shit, hopefully Ricki doesn't mind it coming back with holes in the fingers and toes, since Reyna's of a felid species and has very sharp claws.

Matt: SLAYS. He slays so hard it's a 9.9 motherquake on the serving scale. Somehow, he makes it look good.

Dolores: Has trouble saying 'no' to people, so she'd probably agree even though she didn't necessarily want to.

Vanessa: Would be too busy gay panicking to realize what Ricki said because Nessa is a useless lesbian, and didn't realize what she's getting herself into. She'd make the most of it though.

Dori: Would shapeshift into Nightwing while wearing that and take down HYDRA with the intel that they know, that way the remnants of HYDRA wouldn't be able to go after them or their family, since a completely different vigilante attacked them, right?

Ellis: Doesn't understand humanity enough to get that it's not that fashionable, they've only been out of heaven for a little while and humans still confuse them, so they wear it thinking it's the height of style.

#ask revan #oc shit #vexic :D

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morganee · 2 years

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🍂If you get this, answer with 3 random facts about yourself and send it to the last 7 blogs in your notifications, anonymously or not! Let's get to know the person behind the blog 🍂

sorry it took me this long to answer!! ok let's start

I like the number 5 a lot, like maybe a bit too much (but I hate when things are uneven, like if there are five grapes I have to divide the fifth one in two so that I get six grapes... I blame this on my ocd lmao)

I have a dog and a cat named Artù and Laila. I love them to bits :') Artù is the Italian version of Arthur, which is funny since my name is Morgana lol (yes, I chose the name)

I ate too many tangerines while in film school and I can't eat them anymore, like they still taste good but my stomach says NOPE PUT THEM DOWN WE HAD TOO MUCH OF IT ALREADY

This was HARD, I never know what to write! But I had fun so thank you <33

#ask #about me #personal

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thewickeddevil · 3 years

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A Study In Jean Moreau

(tw: mentions of Jean's past, violence, mental health and suicidal thoughts/intention to die. let me know if there's something else)

ok, so, i say all the time that Jean Moreau is my favorite and comfort character in All For The Game (i know. it literally hurts but also brings me joy sometimes) and i would literally kill for that man. so, that said, i think too much about him and, consequently, i have too many hcs about him. on request, i will now do what i'm gonna call A Study In Jean Moreau

(my beta reader and best friend helped me a lot with this. thanks @jostenrun)

i'll start with this quote from one of my kerejean fics (https://archiveofourown.org/works/26146540)

During Jean's first four months at USC and playing with the Trojans, he would always ignore Jeremy and put a frown on his face whenever he was in the same place as him. It obviously wasn't the best of strategies to put distance between himself and all the Jeremy glow, but it looked exactly bad enough to work.

Still, Jeremy was all pompous and charming looks at him, always smiling and being polite even though he received much less in return. It pissed the shit out of Jean.

He was used by the Ravens for many years, treated exactly like the exchange item he had been, just possession and obliged to follow lines and lines of rules too strict even for how he should breathe.

Riko was violent, the Ravens were cruel, the Moriyama family was wrong and he needed to repeat this to himself on a daily basis to be able to just keep going.

Back at the beginning of those days, many times he would fight back until he was taught that it was only worse. Many times he would beg until he realized that it encouraged Riko more than it prevented him. Many times he would cry until he was taught that it was wrong.

He would often bleed.

He would often wish to bleed until there was nothing left in his veins, no thoughts in his brain, no air in his lungs, no words on the tip of his tongue—

And he would often try to do just that on his own.

That was his daily life for a long time. Evermore was what he knew, the Moriyama family was who he belonged to and all of that was for what he served. That was it.

How was he supposed to know back then that suddenly overly nice twenty-eight other people would replace all of that with magnificence?

How was he supposed to know that they wouldn't look at him with disgust whenever he accidentally let a curse in French slip away?

How was he supposed to know that the Trojans had complete freedom within the team, instead of having to walk in pairs like the Ravens?

How was he supposed to know that Jeremy wasn't going to hit him whenever he made a mistake?

Or how would he know that Jeremy never considered anything that he made a mistake?

It was all a very big break from reality and so, so suddenly. Jean felt confused at first. Lost, wrong, out of place, stupid and scared.

And Jeremy was always determined to be the best he could be. Jeremy was safe.

Until Jean felt comfortable, confident, fine, and satisfied. He was someone instead of something and he really felt like that.

i think Jean would take years to relearn how to live instead of surviving. sometimes he would fail at that, but so many failures can only lead to success eventually.

he really didn't want to keep playing exy after everything, he doesn't think exy is good at all and trauma made him hate it, but he needs it because of the deal with Ichirou. fortunately, the Trojans are a team big enough to put him in the background for a while, to give him a little rest. but he knows he can't relax too much

he starts therapy. he needs it badly and it takes time for him to really be able to do it, but Jean was never anything but strong, and when he sees the chance to finally heal he knows that, despite how tired he is, despite how many times he wonders if it's worth it to keep going, he needs to grab that and at least try. just one more time. he never wanted to work for anything in his life because nothing was important before, but now he thinks that maybe things are changing

the Trojans get a dorm exclusively for him at first, because they don't want Jean to force himself to share space with someone he doesn't know and still doesn't trust. they want Jean to have his own space and feel safe before anything. he needs that solitude and he knows that it doesn't mean loneliness because his team will always be just a call away from him

he relapses sometimes. days without taking basic care of himself and without getting up from bed, and he no longer remembers whether he’s alive or not. sometimes he's able to call his therapist when that happens, but sometimes he isn't

this is how he gets into the habit of learning poetry. and eventually, writing poetry. he needs a coping mechanism and words seem to be safe enough to float around in his mind and make space in his core

(French poetry that Kevin always dissects for him and tells about the history behind the period in which those texts were written, or about the authors of each text)

the process is slow but it’s progress nonetheless

so, we know about therapy, about not being easy, about difficulties and things happening slowly during the healing process, now let's talk about the little details when things finally start to work out positively. when the best part of Jean's life finally begins

he finds out that his eyesight isn't bad only because of the beatings he took in the nest, and finds it ridiculous when Jeremy offers to help him buy glasses because, according to him, all the glasses Jean likes make him look like a middle-aged man that curses people for fun. Jean doesn't hate it though

Jean learns how to swim and likes it more than he thought he would. he likes the fluidity and movements of the liquid around his skin, how he cuts the water with his body when moving around and how it doesn't hurt him, and he just feels light

Jean likes nutella and chocolate with nuts, because Jeremy used to give it to him after nightmares or difficult days, and it became a comfort food for him (something he wasn’t even allowed to eat in the nest)

Jean's musical taste is a big mess of R&B, soul, pop art, folk, dark pop... he likes artists like Lorde, Aurora, Marina, Sigrid, Sleeping at last and the list goes on

Before he left France, Jean's family had a farm and he was responsible for harvesting fruits and vegetables there. this is one of the last memories he has about France, so he likes to harvest fruits and vegetables whenever he has the chance in the US

Jean loves to read fantasy books. he is a hufflepuff and part of cabin 6 in camp half-blood (children of Athena)

he likes geography. pedology, topography and weather are his favorites. he likes to look at the sky and know how to name climatic phenomena regardless of where in the world he is

(he also likes history and sociology, but only because he can hear Kevin and Jeremy — respectively — talking for hours and hours about those two subjects)

he hates biology

he absolutely hates croissants, tea and coffee. in the morning he always drinks juice or chocolate milk (the latter is Jeremy's fault)

the first time he willingly got wasted on alcohol, he, Sarah and Laila woke Jeremy up in the wee hours of the night while singing in Spanish (Jean barely knows Spanish). he passed out after that and woke up the next day in his room. his first thought was that he was fine even though he lost control of himself around other people, and he cried because of that. Jeremy was concerned because he thought he was crying from a headache or something related to a hangover

Jean can never find shoes his size in conventional stores because he's very big (fucking tall, muscular but not too much, with large shoulders and hips, and eventually a tummy) and, consequently, his feet are also big. he needs to have it personalized and he completely hates it

he loves dogs but is easily scared by them. he couldn't get out of the dorms for almost an entire day after Jeremy's mom's dog barked too loud and it scared Jean. he felt guilty and didn't want people to be mad at him for being so scared of a simple dog

he loves cats though, and after some time into therapy, he adopted a service cat. Kevin and Jeremy always joke about it looking like a replica of Jean himself

Jean doesn't understand the purpose of MMA competitions, because he doesn't like violence and thinks martial arts should be only for self-defense, so he doesn't really understand why people choose to compete over something so aggressive

he also doesn't like the violence in exy, but he forgives because, at least, violence is not the main goal of the sport, but to score points

he learns to draw and starts to open art commissions on the internet. this is his first job and he's proud of it because it was something he achieved by himself

Jean and Jeremy fell in love on the beach

Kevin and Jean take time to forgive each other, especially Jean. the broken heart Kevin left in Jean hurt more than being abandoned by his parents. he suffered from it for years but he didn't really want to blame Kevin. he also knew Riko, after all. he knew how capable of driving someone insane Riko was. it didn't make things easier or less painful though. Kevin and Jean took time, but they never loved each other less

Kevin and Jean fell in love for the second time (the time they could, the time they were allowed) after one of the matches in which their teams were rivals

Jean is very picky for food consistency, and he hates ketchup and mayonnaise for that. he insists all the time that if people knew how to season the food well, they wouldn't need those condiments

(he secretly loves Dijon Mustard though)

Jean was born on 08/31. he’s a virgo

plushies are the first resource that Jean uses when he feels alone but is unable to be around anyone at the moment, so he unconsciously starts making a collection of them. they're all small, except for two that Kevin and Jeremy gave him and are, respectively, a fox and a red and gold trojan. he eventually distributes his plushies to children in local orphanages but keeps those two to himself out of sheer emotional attachment

he doesn't stop suffering because of his trauma throughout his life, but he learns to deal with it. that's the point of everything. he never thinks he will magically forget or get over it, but now he is in a different place in his life and he can start working his way to be the best version of himself he can. he doesn't fool himself into thinking it will be easy and fast, he never thought it would be less difficult than it really was, but he takes things slowly and carefully and hopes it works

his entire healing process is too complex and extensive to explain everything here, but i did the best i could and now i really need to stop because i could stay here ranting for days. xx

#Jean Moreau #all for the game #aftg #the foxhole court #the raven king #the king's men #Jeremy Knox #Kevin Day #USC Trojans #Healing #i love him too much for my own good #this man deserves the whole world and i'll stand for that #Kerejean #Jerejean #Kevjean

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kaiju-z · 4 years

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Seon Adventures: Episode 32 - Chain of Command

There was a victory. A bitter, bitter, ugly victory, from wherein our heroes were left amidst piles of bodies, surrounding the lake of Stren.

From hundreds, if not thousands of dead, there were 34 survivors. Among whom were Dak and Kit. We come back to the scene as our heroes get their bearings of this ordeal...

Bodies. So many corpses. And among them, the party of five stand. Tired. Weary. Hurt. Covered in blood, gunk and lake shit. Stren’s gook sticking to the soles of their footwear as they ponder on where to carry on to from here.

A decision is raised. While half the party ;Belli, Jun and Mournimar go to the nearest town to get help with the bodies, Luctan opts to join Malak on the daunting task to bury the fallen. As long as it’ll take.

From Bavorum, the elite guard make smoke signals, signing that they are drawing near to the scene as the less armored trio, followed by the trusty Morgan go off, carrying Kit to the town of Askrivium.

Kit, who had been one of those luckily spared by the death curse. Kit, was slowly coming to, in her own cheeky way. Much to the amusement of Jun, who watches the half-orc bard bicker at the “sleeping” changeling rogue.

And while their group head for Askrivium, the two changeling having a little back and forth, the armored duo of Luck and Malak get to work. Steadily, taking shifts, on agreement, to do this deed.

2 hours pass. A large shadow comes over the horizon. That of the Darksbane Army, finally arriving at the scene, led by Laila Duststone. Joined by Terrowin the Half-Orc and Kraag the Orc Barbarian. Full force and mobilized, they approach the scene and one after the other, Terrowin and Laila talk with Luck and Malak.

Mournfully, Luctan retells the story of what happened, first to Terrowin, then to Laila. Each of whom at the very least are glad that the party is in full form, having lost no one among them. Laila encourages Luck to not blame himself over what had transpired, even as he does so.

Laila explains that the people, who touched the crystal orb will be gathering within a week to discuss what’s happening. Savron included. So it’s serious. Laila had come into contact with the crystal and born witness to what would happen.

Luctan wants to join them, if possible. But Laila declines, as they had done enough. She hands him a note with a certain number. A collective 25,000 Gold for the party, should they travel east next, before their work up north.

Still, the two holy fighters carry on with what they decided upon the end of the battle.

Among the bodies, a pondering Luck finds a familiar face. But it’s not who he was expecting. It’s one of the younger priests in the temple of Sa Doma. A tiny little Halfling woman.

The boys bond over sadness and emotions. Luck’s always here if Malak wants to talk.

Malak will remember this.

Luck tries to heal Malak. Nothing happens, but it’s the thought that counts.

Fastforwarding to Ascrovium!...

The squishy half of the party, and honorary member Kit, enter the grounds and... It’s a small town, definitely more of a stopping point for travelers than anything else. What’s shocking about the town, however, is the amount of people that are currently gathered.

The town is remarkably packed. These are families of people, who walked off in the middle of the night. Partners, etc .Everyone seems particularly tense, no one is sure where everyone is.

It is at this moment that Belli decides to bring out her Thaumaturgy stone and get everyone’s attention...

Without mincing words, she tells everyone what happened. How their loved ones were gathered at the lake. How tragiclaly most of them met their end there, if, but for 34 among them. A small light of hope in the constricting darkness.

Most of the crowd is in shock. Some just start running. 10-15 minutes later, the town is cleared from the exess folk, everyone that could afford to make a run, heading there immediatelly.

“This broughtcast was brought to you by Peppery Pete.”

Jun commends Belli for her way of handling the encounter. Belli thanks her, attributing her skill to it either being her maturing or adding another layer of trauma to herself.

... yeah....

They check for a possible morgue and find a thin Half-Orc girl, who guards the graveyard with a pike, for her aunt, who had gone to find her father. Possibly among the people, who met their end.

The party quickly assess that the graveyard is too small for the capacity of bodies. 10% of the bodies seen at lake Stren could probably fit in and that’s probably without counting the ones, already occupying the dirt.

Their group end up heading for the nearest tavern, discussing Ficus’ relationship status as Jun finds him handsome, but Belli protects her brother, claiming he is “spoken for”. Which brings Jun to ponder on Ficus’ thoughts on relationships of a kind.

As they take to a tavern, get cleaned and find their rest in their own respective way, the armored boys are still at it. 1 AM. They are still working. Aided by the army, but are still going about it and watching out, just in case someone tries to nick something from the bodies. Which almost happens. But Malak’s stern fatherly disapproval brings Kraag to return the watch.

Morning comes. One half of the party wake up and have breakfast. The other has been working all evening, through the waking hours and have exhausted themselves physically. But by gum, so much work had been done.

As Jun gets the diggers food in a basket, Belli checks with her brother, updating him on Kit.

Ficus had been running all night, after what Belli had told him previously, making his way to lake Stren. Which. Is probably a long way, given that he probably started off at a different location.

“Welp. I’m sure that won’t come back to haunt me!” - Belli says, before burrying her face in Orion’s fur. (gross cat noises commence).

The party reconnects at the lake, where Luctan and Malak finally get to eat, while catching up their party on what had occured, while they were gone.

Once done eating, they gather their things and travel by carriage eastward. Luck gives Malak permission to take the holy axe from the bag of holding and Malak attunes to it on the travel. While the boys have themselves a good long rest after what they had been through.

(Also Belli is Stress Knitting. Headcanon time: The reason why the party’s clothes tend to look mostly fine after battle, is because Belli fixes the cuts).

Over the next couple of days, the party bond over battle strategies and counters to what they had just witnessed and Malak learns about a bit more about the battle axe he now has in his possession. The axe, a union of Radience and Hellishness carries celestial runes, speaking of holy vengeance.

On the 3rd day of our travel, the group take a different road, ‘cause for some of them this has been a familiar road already. Along the path, they notice stables. 2 men posted outside the door. But it’s just some stables.

Suspicious, the group stops as night approaches.

And, while Mournimar speaks with Morgan and Orion, this is how the Cultbusters would meet Henry and Ronald, a cute couple, doing some sort of business (speaking in heavy New York accents)

Henry, the beefier of the two and Ronald, an orange haired man with freckled cheeks.

The two sides come together and agree on casting Zone of Truth on each other, as a means to learn about one another, so less suspicion could be had.

They are here to guard the room and it’s contents. They won’t say what the room they guard holds within it, but they won’t hurt the adventurers, if they don’t mess with the room.

The truth is being said. And Belli creatively speaks what she has to say. “You’re a tricksy little bitch and I like you!” one of the men admits, under the effects of the spell and Belli just has a laugh. She wants no drama.

Also, like it has to be said, but Henry finds Malak a pretty man. (We all do, but come on).

Once everyone gets coasy with one another, the party and the couple of Henry and Ronald join together for a happy dinner together.

The food is nice. The mood is high. Henry and Ronald seem to be delightful. Complimentary as heck about Belli’s cooking. The lads are the poifect gentlemen, basically.

Once the dinner is done, the party find places to spend their longrests in, but before the actual long rest occurs, Luck pulls Belli aside and suggests she send a bug-shifted Orion into the couple’s room. Just to be sure they were on the up and up.

Something felt off this night and he wasn’t sure what.

That was the gameplan!

And as the night progresses...

Luctan goes into his dreams again. Like multiple times before.

And... things happen. Sad things. And he sleeps.

In the meanwhile, Jun also has a dream of her own. Whether it’s anything like Luck’s is it’s own story.

In the middle of the night, something happens. 6 hours in, as the party have had their full rest, the flutter of wings awake Henry and Ronald, the latter of whom silently calls over Belli to witness what they were seeing.

.What Belli joins in on watching...

Is 5 imps.

Carrying Luck away. Each holding a limb, the 5th his head.

And Luck is sleeping.

Belli gets Mournimar’s attention and the digitigraded tiefling bolts through the door, upon hearing that. Screaming his loudest “WTF?!”

Which wakes everyone up.

Belli wastes no time. And casts Sleep on one of the imps, causing it to let go of one of Luck’s arms as it drops on the ground.

ROLL FOR INITIATIVE!

All the commotion that follow brings a red flash behind the board.

Just behind said board, a red creature with curled horns and 4 chains being wrapped behind it appears, hovering behind the imps. Glaring at the group.

Belli casts Polymorph on Luck. But Luck, sleeping, unfortunatelly counters it.

Annoyed, Belli chants a Vicious Mockery on one of the imps, while Chain Devil takes a stance.

Moves in close and attacks most of the party with his chains.

One chain smacks Jun and she gets restrained, grappled. Unable to move form her spot as the sickle at the end of the Devil’s chain stabs into her.

Another chain grapples Malak and a third misses Mournimar, which luckily takes the tension off of Belli as the 4th chain goes for the archer, stabbing hinto him like with the other two.

Jun uses all her acrobatic skill to free herself and do so easily from the chains. All her time as a dominatrix pays off as that is an easy feat for her. She immediatelly Hexes their attacker and moves in, ready to attack with her Gambler’s Blade.

And Luck’s still asleep.

Sadly, Mournimar isn’t as flexible as Jun and can’t find freedom from the chains. So instead, shouts at the Fiend in Infernal. He DEMANDS to know where they are trying to take Luctan.

This distraction gives Malak the chance to attack the imps, without having to move. Malak casts Toll The Dead on the imps on the right. While one is more stable, the other’s head outright explodes.

Because... “For Whom The Bell Tolls, Time Marches on.”

And before you ask, YES! THIS IS A DBZ REFERENCE!

Luck’s leg is free as Malak brings out his Spiritual Weapon. And smashes it into the nearest imp he can see, the sleeping one, messing him up visibly.

As the remaining 3 Imps try to escape with Luctan, Belli runs around from the other entrance of the barn and casts Dispell Magic on Luctan, putting all her Arcane skill into it.

And Luck wakes. glaring at his captors.

Your friends don’t care about you, they only like what you can offer them.” She gives an imp Anxiety. How much anxiety? Well, it straight up dies. So that’s the amount!

The Chain Devil attacks Jun again. Misses. Then grabs her and pierces her body with his thick hook again, causing bodily harm to the changeling. As she, Malak and Mournimar take continual damage from the chains wrapped around them, Mournimar’s pain response kicks in and he casts Hellish Rebuke at the Fiend.

Much to his shagrin, however, that doesn’t work out. As the devil is not even tickled from this effort.

It’s form starts to shift. It’s face taking a resemblence to Harker, Mournimar’s father, as he had last seen him. Face mangled. Burned. Aching.

The stress seems to be too much... but Mournimar steels his mind to the mental attack of the Devil. He will not be fooled by the mental projection of this Fiend!

Jun escapes. Again. Takes her rapier and dramatically cuts her thigh open.

After last night she got brave. Bringing forth an electric stabbing upon the Devil with the power of her Blood Rites.

Luctan Teleports behind the devil, swings twice, misses. But then strikes a gash at the back of the creature.

And Luck heals Jun some. In Infernal, he tells the Devil to leave.

Mournimar struggles to free himself and Malak acknowledges that, casting Freedom of Movement on Mournimar. And then attacks the Devil with the Spiritual weapon, clobbering onto him.

The imps try to attack Luck from behind. But neither manages quite to get purching on the fighter/sorcerer’s armor, pathetically gnawing at the material. But nothing much else.

Belli attempts to dispell one of the chains, the one holding Malak. And succeeds, after which she mocks again. “You’re a cowardly little cunt. You will die alone and no one will love you.” sending waves of psychic damage to the fiend.

Frustrated, he looks between the two tieflings. It looks between Mournimar and Luck and finally speaks, determined: “ He’s coming home. Now!”

As Malak gets freed, Jun gets snatched up again and soon Luctan catches the bane of the chains on his body.

Unlike Luck, however, all the pain causes Jun to go limp and unconscious in the grasp of the metal, much to Luctan’s shock.

The Devil shifts his face again, glaring at Malak. Taking the form of one of his late comrades.

But Malak is used to this sort of thing by now. He’s seen far worse in his nightmares. So he keeps his mind strong and defended.

As the two get carried away, Luck notices life in Jun’s unconscious frame, giving him strength to free himself from the chains, one of which goes limp. Then Luctan wakes her up again, wishing some vitality into her form, while Mournimar brings out his arrows and Marks the devil for the Hunt.

Fires, misses twice, but that’s quite ok.

Malak attacks, but misses by a few inches as his powerful Guiding Bolt blasts elsewhere.

He still has an attack, however, splatting one of the remaining imps.

Scared and alone, the singular awake imp turns invisible. And the party knows not where it’d go. (DAMN YOU, COTTON EYE JOE!)

Which is bad, because it stings Jun. Who almost drops again.

Ah. But in this moment you forget about the bard.

NO ONE DARE FORGET ABOUT THE BARD!!!

With Jun’s consent, Belli transforms Jun...

Then she mocks the Devil. “Luck’s our friend. If you’re that lonely just drill a hole in the wall.” But the Devil takes it in stride.

“He’s not my friend. I serve him. He just doesn’t know what’s best for him right now.” Luck gets smacked around. Hard! And this chained hellman starts to chant in a mix of Infernal and Arcane.

As the Devil tries to teleport away with the grappled Luctan, a thick shadow comes from his left. And before he can react, the Chain Devil gets chomped on by a monochromatic Spinosaurus Seonipticus.

As Belli draws closer, Jun gets the HDYWTDT with her Jawsy-Wawsies. And she tears him to shreds.

Very easily she shreds this Devil and gently plucks the chains off of Luck’s body. And puts him down on the ground. The duality of Jun. She will tear you asunder, but she will also bleed on you and be nice.

As for the last of the awoken imps... Jun distractedly swings her tail and the Imp just gets punted into Hell. All that is left is a splatter on the wall, before Belli turns Jun back to her general fine self.

As Luctan and Jun catch their bearings,Malak and Mournimar join the bard over the body of the sleeping, if fucked up, imp. Deciding on a gameplan on questioning him, Belli stabs it through the foot.

Which. Um. Unfortunately kills it?!

Moments pass. Henry and Ronald still inside, the group convenes around Luck to get a better idea of what just happened. Jun asks the disguised tiefling if he’s ok, keeping an eye on him as she asks. He is. Feels oddly free. And he heals Jun once again as he confirms.

When asked to explain what this was all about, how the Devil knew him, where it was planning on taking him, a tired and less reluctant Luck encourages them to think of what he’s already said about himself.

“I’m not from Seon. I ran away from home after freeing my mother’s slaves. A Chain Devil and Imps tried to take me “home”.”

Belli and Malak begin putting two and two together real fast. They would know that the things the party just saw and dealt with were and are devils, not demons. Devils serve Potencia. Demons serve Quorrin.

With a tired smile, Luctan admits it.

“I guess, I’m the son of Potencia.” and he says this, his gaze never faltering from Malak’s face.

He proceeds to give them the briefest description of his recent interaction with her, in his dreams. Meeting her in her office. In a form he hadn’t often seen her in. Her disappointment in him for not allout killing the Traveling Gentlemen. Having expected “better” of him.

Wanting him to become an Arch Devil to one of the hells, who’s leader was missing. His refusal. And then, her doing something, before he woke up, being carried away.

And he looked at Malak, the whole time, having taken off his ring during the talk.

Whatever Malak was thinking, he was keeping inside and away from any insight that could be made on him.

Jun acts very flustered at first, when Luck spills the beans as he does. She had seemingly been in contact with someone and mentions “The Evenchord Boy”, something that subtly catches Luck’s attention...

As Luck takes a moment to catch his breath again from what happened, he takes a seat on the ground. Mournimar and Belli, surprisingly, were encouraging of him. Rather than judginess from Mournimar, given said Ranger’s history with the cult of Potencia and Luctan’s heavy connection... He had expected an earful. At the fucking least. But that hadn’t happened.

Luck could all but laugh. Pitifully laugh and ponder. More surprisingly, Jun would kneel beside him, arm over his shoulders and offers him an ear to listen to his troubles if he needs it. Somehow she understands. However that works, she understands and makes it a point to tell him some important words:

“Your roots don’t make you. You make you.”

Then he receives a kiss on the forehead from the changeling woman as he slowly realizes that he may have human relatives somewhere...

After a night of devilry and a slight argument with the duo of Henry and Ronald, the party finally get their second long rest. It would become revealed that Henry and Ronald were actually clerics, possibly of Dyunificus, who were protecting a bunch of kids and silver foxes and were keeping them secret from the party (understandably so) as Adventurers came in many moral colors.

Belli would pay them to ease their tensions, too tired and frustrated from the combat to argue with the men.

Some time passes again as the party carries on on the road. Luctan often looking to Malak, but giving him space.

Eventually they’d draw near to Crystalgate.

And take shifts in a campsight of their making.

1st Luctan, 2nd Jun, 3rd Malak, 4th Mournimar. All this to help Belli have a full rest to prepare meals in the morning.

Sure enough, the night is peaceful and when Belli gets her turn, she makes a perception check... She sweeps the area and-

She feels pretty alright, as she cooks. “These times are easy to appreciate the world. All six of us are safe.”

SIX?!

Wait. Something’s wrong. She looks and at the fire is an half-elf man with strong black curly hair. Deep brown eyes in the campfire light. Dark skin? He’s relaxed and casually pokes at the fire with a stick.

“Hi?!”

“Oh, Morning.”

“Oh, you can wake the rest of your friends, if you’d like. I believe we have some catching up to do.”

“Who are you?”

“My name is Akar’niel.”

Belli wakes the rest of the party and, well. He introduces himself to the group.

For the most part, it seems that he knows the names, though he’s not quite as familiar with Jun and Malak, nor does he seem to be aware of Luck’s true name.

He knows what the party have been doing and have been up against. He represents a higher power.

Before he disappears in purple smoke, he whispers something.

Luctan would look at his journal and read the mantra that he had sewn into the pages:

“ When the Western Fields lie sundered, blackened with ash.

When Lake Stren turns red with the blood of your allies

When brother turns against brother in the North

When the Giants of the East flee from demons bigger than they

When the Council lie with their throats slit

That is when I will come for you. And it will be the End."

And as the episode ends, the party levels up.

Previous Episode / Next Episode

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filthysweetie · 4 years

Text

James Bond drabble

Prompt: “Dear Diary...”

missed a day >.< this one is begging to be a longer story, but i had to cut it so i can finish packing...note that there’s a brief description of torture in this one.

Edit: This now has a sequel here if anyone wants to read it :)

———

Dear Diary,

Let it be known this is done under duress. Apparently, not being a bloody field agent does not get you out of psych evaluations and ‘recommended’ methods to cope with ‘high stress levels’ and ‘worrying tendency to identify job performance as self-worth’. I bet they didn’t make Boothyard do this. You get kidnapped once and then everyone suddenly thinks you’re a delicate flower.

Hell, Bond got kidnapped (I guess it’s just called captured when they’re agents…which actually is now making me quite offended that when I was taken it was called kidnapping) on 7 of his last 15 missions. I don’t see him writing a damn diary about it! (Although god, imagine that.) Besides, what’s the point of keeping a diary if it’s mandated and also!! Your psychiatrist will be reading it? Maybe I should start writing in code. 01000110 01110101 01100011 01101011 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 00100000 01000100 01110010 00101110 00100000 01011001 01100101 01101110 00101110 ——— “What is…that?”

Q turned, not the least bit surprised to see James standing there behind him. He had a mission coming up and was obviously ready for his kit. Q did a little ritual over the case, always so sad to see the fine pieces of machinery go when the chance of them returning was so dismal. Instead of focusing on the kit, though…Q followed his eyes to the little journal on his desk. It was covered in stickers (most of them shiny, some of them hello kitty gifted by a little one on the tube who got three on before he or her mother noticed) and attached in the pen holder was a pen with a fuzzy feather top. It was rainbow.

Can’t blame the man for noticing it, it was a rather stark deviation from the normal color pallet and maturity level of Q’s desk.

“Oh, that old thing?” Q pat the top with a little more force than necessary, “my psych assigned diary. I figure if they choose to treat me like a child I may as well oblige.”

James took a moment before speaking, “And what, pray tell, made them think you need it?”

Q blinked, “Does that mean you’ve done it too?” That was a bit of a surprise. The double-o agents seems to thrive on their disregard of ‘normal’ coping, of medical, and of psych all together.

“Answer the question, Q.” James had the audacity to roll his eyes.

“Now I’m very curious,” Q can’t help it, “what do you write in it? About the girls you like? About more interesting ways to destroy my tech?”

“Mostly survivors guilt.” James says, nonchalant.

Well, that answers that, “Oh…” damn it, now he’s obliged to answer James’ question regardless of if this is an interrogation tactic or not. He gives a half shrug, “Dr. Yen assigned it after the kidnapping.”

“Excuse me?”

“I know, I thought it was all very much over the top as well.” Q fights a sigh, “Now your kit—”

James shakes his head, “No, wait, you were kidnapped?”

Q blinks, ignores the chill that goes down his spine; “I knew they didn’t release that on the official channels but I assumed you’d know none the less.” Q clears his throat, “Now, your kit.”

James quiets then, but there are a lot of questions behind his eyes. Who’s to say if Q focuses on his tech a bit more than he normally would. ——— Dear diary,

I didn’t realize it had been kept quite so secret. I should have known, we are a spy organization. But I was {Q hesitates over the word, crossing out kidn and captu wishing suddenly that he was using his standard pencil instead of this purple inked mess of a pen} gone for 11 days. I guess I figured they would have told the double-os at least, maybe brought them in to help find me. Not that I needed anyone’s help, of course, I mean I got out of there myself, didn’t need anyone rescuing this damsel.

But the fact that {Ja is scribbled over fully; must remember that this will be read} there were agents I’m the primary handler of that didn’t notice at all. What excuse were they told when I wasn’t on the comms? Would they have just kept been given excuses until the forgot to keep asking?

My cats were fed, at least. Moneypenny thought I would come back, or at least held out enough hope to not sell my apartment and put my cats in a shelter after 11 bloody days.

R had been searching non-stop—bless her, I think she needs this exercise more than me. Poor girl looked like she hadn’t slept since I’d left; keeping all the missions on track while searching for me. It was her and Riley and Sunil that found me on the security footage after I got out of that place and got me a pickup. It’s not like I was forgotten or anything. {Why do I feel forgotten? Q stares at the line in it’s stark purple ink for a long moment before crossing it out. He doesn’t want to talk about that with himself, let alone Dr. Yen.}

Regardless. R has finished debriefing me on all active missions that I’d missed some portion on, and overall everything is going well. Testing of the new laser pen fell behind during my absence but it’s to be expected. It will give me something to do tomorrow when most of my active agents are in transit. ——— “Q, Sir, we really need you in the pit.” Laila said, standing at the threshold of his office, seeming a bit more frazzled than normal. There are no alarms (auditory or silent) going off around her, so the attitude was a bit perplexing.

Q puts the soldering iron down on it’s stand and takes off the magnification glasses, replacing them with his own, already getting up and heading towards her, “What’s the matter?”

“Sir, one of the agents is being belligerent; requesting to speak only to you before moving forward with his mission.”

That’s a new one; “Alright then, transfer the secure line to my station please, Laila.”

It’s always nice, walking out to the floor, seeing his people working away. Standing at the center of it is like being cocooned within the greatest minds of London. It’s safe.

“Yes?”

“Q”Jame’s voice is instantly recognizable, “I’ve arrived in Paraguay and will be rendezvousing with the contact at 1430.”

Q waited. Nothing.

“And?”

“That is all.”

Q blinked, glad that James couldn’t see the confusion that must certainly be coving his face, “You called me away from my prototypes to give me a standard mission update that you could have given to any one of my people?”

“Had to make sure you were still around, Q”

“Still—” it clicks, “Oh. Well. Yes, I am very much still around.

“Good.” Is that a smile in his voice or is Q projecting? “I’ll check in again after the rendezvous.”

Q’s throat clicks, dry; “I’ll be here.” ———— Dear Diary,

When will this little experiment be over? It’s been a half month! I haven’t got much free time at all, and wasting it in this damn book isn’t helping anyone. Least of all me. ————— “I notice you haven’t actually written anything about the kidnapping?” Dr. Yen asks, looking through his entries with a clinical eye.

“I much prefer to call it capture.” Q says in leu of an answer. The sticker covered mess looks silly in her hands, but she seemed to have enjoyed his take on ‘making it his own’ even if he’d been doing the antithesis of that. Granted, some of his minions have added stickers to it too—so next to hello kitty is a ‘back it the fuck up’ sticker in fancy script with an old school desktop monitor showing the phrase, and a sparkly unicorn that Trevor insists is from his kids but Q has his doubts. If he leaves it on his desk unattended, when he comes back there are always new stickers. No one ever opens it, respecting some privacy that doesn’t really need respecting (it’s not like there’s anything of substance in there), but it’s a nice gesture none the less.

Dr. Yen smiles, “Of course,” Q wishes she were a bit more of a dick like Dr. Reynard had been—it was easier to dismiss someone when they were being an ass, “I notice you haven’t written about your capture—or escape for that matter—at all. There are some references to it, but no detail. Do you have any thoughts on why that is?”

Q takes a sip of tea. It is nice that these meetings are uninterrupted tea time—though he could do without the conversation.

“There’s nothing important to say about it.” Q set the mug down, making sure to be gentle about it, “it’s all done, and I don’t exactly plan to get kidna—captured again.”

Dr. Yen gives an amused smile, “no one really plans to get captured at all.” Then, “Sometimes the act of writing down an experience”—she stopped using ‘traumatizing experience’ a while ago, Q did not have a traumatizing experience, thank you—“can solidify it in our reality. It may be difficult to do that at first, but once it is solidified, we can begin to process it in a healthy way.”

“It’s already written up in the after-action report.”

“Yes, but that was what happened, not how it felt to be going through those things.”

Q rolls his eyes, “do you want me to write a soliloquy on how sad and lonely it was and how I felt abandoned by MI6 and made peace with my death? Or maybe how it transformed me in ineffable ways and I have a new lease on life?”

It was so annoying to lay on that perfect level of sarcasm to have it disregarded so thoroughly, “If that’s how you feel, yes.” God she’s so earnest.

“Well it wasn’t” Q snapped out. He picked up the mug again and took another sip. Setting it down extra soft, with barely a ‘clink’ on the glass table, “Excuse me, I must be more tired than I thought.”

“Not to worry,” Dr. Yen smiled, “your job is stressful any given day of the week, it’s certainly understandable. Please do give it a thought though as you go through this week. Sometimes putting things to paper allows our minds to ‘get it out of our system’ instead of having it linger in our subconscious.”

“Very well. I will give it some thought.” ———— Dear Diary,

Lets give it the old college try, shall we?

I admire James Bond. He’s one of our best field agents, though his record for returning his tech is abysmal. He seems to come back from the brink of death more times than a cat and never seems to let it affect him. Always ready for the next mission.

I want to be like that. He’s been through so much, the loss of M, the burning of his home, the burning of so many false starts at a normal life, and he comes back and he may be battered but he’s still whole. Undoubtedly whole. I get kidnapped once and now I can’t even get a good nights sleep unless I’m folded awkwardly on the little couch in my office, and of course that sleep is poorer for other reasons.

I know I’m capable, I know I can destroy countries and get myself out of most any situation that I find myself in, but I didn’t realize exactly how that situation would affect me. I haven’t lost confidence in my abilities, but maybe loss of confidence in my security? Is it just a waiting game to see when I’ll next be thrown into the back of a van, drugged, and then wake up in a windowless room, IV in my arm strapped to a chair with no fucking idea how much time has passed? When will I next find myself threatened and beaten? The soles of my feet slashed, so dehydrated that I can’t put my head up without feeling dizzy?

Obviously I can survive it. I have.

The thought of it happening again…it’s terrifying. And it can happen at any time. And I thought I admired James because he looked like a good lay. Maybe it’s because he seems unbreakable and I worry I’m already broken. ———— Q stared at the pages for a long time. Was he supposed to feel hollow?

He tore them out, crumpled them like a secret and then lit them on fire. This was a spy organization after all, no point in letting that level of weakness get out. ———— Dear Diary,

Laila got a new corgi puppy. Despite being a cat person, I have to admit it’s quite cute.

#007 #james bond #q #00q #if you squint #drabble on #i fancy myself a writer #tw: torture #dear diary

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fameboundedx · 4 years

Text

he was the one with the money, with the good looks, with the fame, with it all... but Cat wanted to make sure he knew she would always have something to give to him even if it wasn’t all of that. it had been a few years since they started dating. been time since copper nearly murdered them. she was making a place for herself, starting to truly be integrated into his life. it wasn’t easy and there were days she couldn’t stand alongside him before the media... but she was willing to try new things for him, trying to expand her realm within his life.

one such thing she had never done was truly been a part of his work. while he helped in her greenhouse and played paintball with her and supported her in so much, all she had done was attend a few interviews or sit on the sidelines, watching him work in the chaos. but quietly, she had been taking some lessons with Laila. with his dad. and with a few strings pulled, she had done something she never imagined.

coming into the living room where he lounged, she knew it wasn’t the most romantic valentine’s she could give... but she felt it might mean something special to him. shaky hands held a piece of paper which she brought forth to him.

he had recently auditioned for a movie and, secretly, so had she. her role wasn’t big. she wasn’t about to take a leap into major stardom. but something where they could be on set together and do this... it was enough. she was one of the friends of his character. unsurprisingly the grumpier, more realistic one but. it was a role.

she held the offer letter out for him to see and gave a smile, though cheeks burned red, hoping he would be as excited as she was nervous.

Even Scott’s agent was in on the big Valentine’s Day surprise. The actor knew someone fresh was coming in for a non-major role. But when he asked who was in the line-up for auditions, he was met with a shrug. Was told that they wished to remain anonymous. Curiosity was strong, but he knew there was nothing more he could do until the mystery was unwrapped.

Unbeknownst to him, the answer was literally right under his nose ( Both literally and figuratively ). He might have said something to Cat about this role that hadn’t yet been filled, but he never once caught her smirking behind his back. His girlfriend was always GOOD at hiding her emotions - a true master of the art. Not once did he realize it could’ve been her. And with Laila and his father being in the acting community themselves, they played their clueless roles well.

However, they didn’t have to play that game for too long. Whenever the thought came around, they put up their act, but the next change of thought always came quick enough. You can’t blame him, he was CURIOUS about the people whom he will be working with for hours on end.

Scott could be quite the gossip along with Laila.

But finally, Valentine's day had arrived, and they decided to stay in that evening. Treats, movies, and SNUGGLING were in the cards, but they wanted a good, quick meal first. Nothing too fancy tonight, so he sat himself on the laptop for a few minutes, ready to discuss a few restaurant ideas for his PA to pick up. Honestly, he wanted a burger and fries. Or a meat lovers pizza. Whatever it may be, his stomach growled at the thoughts.

The actor waited till Cat was able to make a decision along with him. She had excused herself briefly because she had ‘forgotten’ to grab something. During that time, a few more thoughts passed by his mind as he saved another tab. Fish and chips sounded wonderful as well. What? He wanted to indulge tonight with something fried or greasy. Not romantic, but Cat was fully on board with the decision.

Face glanced up from the screen once he heard approaching footsteps, and he smiled warmly in greeting. “What didcha forget?” Was the first thing out of his mouth before eyes fell upon the envelope presented. “What’s this?” Carefully placing the laptop on one side of the couch cushion, he then took the paper that must hold very important info. True, she had gotten a bit better with reading, it was still difficult. So he carefully opened it, and he started to read the letters that were printed aloud.

Though, as he continued to read, his voice grew more excited. His smile grew bigger, and before he could even finish, he got ahead of himself. Head jerking up, the HAPPINESS was clear upon his face. “Holy shit, you? It was you who got the part!!!? Holy fuck!” All this time... he wondered HOW many were in on this. But he found himself standing. He pulled her into a hug with the letter still in hand.

It was one of his dreams to have Cat be in a film he was in one day, but he never PUSHED it. He knew how stressful and challenging it could be, and it wasn’t for everyone. He never wanted to push her that far, he was just glad she TRIED some things out of her comfort zones for him. But this was unexpected. But in a good way.

He kissed her upon the head and took in her scent as his bear hug tightened. But he pulled back suddenly, chocolate brown eyes widened with surprise. He can’t believe it! It might be a small role, but it was a role nevertheless. “Holy shit, Sweet Kitty. Congratulations! You just made me the happiest man tonight, I’ve always wanted to work with you on something.” Even if it was just one thing, it meant everything to him. For the next little bit, they will be working together, and he’ll be able to truly show her his world through his eyes.

He then caught her lips in a quick kiss. “I love you so much. Happy Valentine’s Day to us.”

#streetxcat #|| ⭐️Scott ( V: HOMEWARD BOUND )#|| eXCUSE ME WHILE I MELT #long post /#submission

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thebluekingdomstory · 5 years

Text

Adara’s story part thirty two

“The Prince’s safety is of the utmost importance” Luna was lecturing the guards that would be escorting Aegean and I to his old home. I let her words drone into the background as I listened instead to Aegean gushing about his house and his father.

“You’re gonna love him Adara! My dad’s the best! Oh, and you can meet our cat! You like cats, right? What am I saying, everyone likes cats!” Aegean was practically vibrating with excitement.

“Alright everyone! Let’s head out” Luna called. I followed one of the guards as I walked beside Aegean. Luna and the second guard were behind us. We decided traveling at noon would be best as it would be easier to blend in with the crowds.

“Adara look! The craft market is on today, can we stop for a second? Please?” Aegean begged. I glanced at Luna behind me, who gave a curt nod.

“Okay but just for a little” I agreed. The streets were lined with stalls and tables filled with everything from pottery to knitted blankets to small painting. I followed Aegean around, smiling as he pointed out different wares to me. I was only half paying attention. I wanted him to enjoy his time out but I was getting more nervous by the second. I couldn’t shake this feeling of dread. That dread only increased as I noticed the two guards with us had gotten distracted by some kind of scuffle. I turned my head to look for Luna and saw she was just a couple tables away which oddly made me feel a bit better. I was about to call her over when a shine in the distance caught my eye, followed by a familiar whistling sound. My instincts took over as my world slowed. I knew I only had seconds to act. I leapt at Aegean, transforming midair. I heard gasps and shrieks of surprise around me, but I ignored them. As I tackled him to the ground I was hit by a piercing pain on my left side. I rolled off of Aegean and turned back to human form, looking down at the arrow protruding from my ribs. I looked at Aegean who was staring at the arrow in horror, but it looked as though he was unharmed. I tried to take a breath in relief but found I couldn’t. That’s not good. My arms could no longer hold me up as my head began to spin from lack of oxygen.

“You two, get the Prince back to the castle now!” Luna yelled over the growing panic.

“Wait! Adara!” Aegean called as he was pulled away from me. Good, if he was safe I could stop worrying. I could close my eyes... I groaned in pain as I felt a solid pressure on my wound. I forced my eyes to open to see Luna leaning over me. My vision was dotted with black.

“Stay with me Adara! You don’t die here, you can’t!”

I never noticed how pretty Luna’s eyes were. I guess I don’t often see them empty of angry, I thought to myself as I slipped out of consciousness.

___

Warmth on my face. Softness on my back. An alarming tightness around by torso. I opened my eyes in confusion. I sucked in a quick breath as I took in my bandaged rib cage. I winced at the pain of breathing and tried to keep my breaths shallower.

“You’re awake, thank the goddess” Kato said from a chair beside my bed. My mind cleared as I remembered what had happened. How I ended up in my own bed was still a mystery though. I hope Luna didn’t carry me; I’d never live that down.

“Yeah” I croaked, “how long have I been asleep?” My body felt like it hadn’t moved in ages.

“You’ve been in and out for the past few days. Laila’s with Hari and Prince Aegean is safe so don’t worry about them” Kato said, anticipating my next questions. I nodded, relieved.

“Do they know who did it?” I asked.

“Straight to business huh? It wasn’t Hari if that’s what you’re asking. He was with me”

The thought had crossed my mind but even if Hari hadn’t promised me to leave Aegean alone, the attack was too well thought out. No, whoever had planned this knew that Aegean would be outside of the carefully guarded castle. I gasped in pain as I tried to sit up.

“Try to get some more rest Adara, there’s nothing you can do about this until you’re better, okay?” Kato insisted, a worried look in his eyes.

“Fine” I sighed and let my eyes close again.

___

I woke again in the evening. Kato was gone. I tried to get up, this time ignoring the pain. Just as I swung my legs down, my bedroom door opened.

“Nah uh, I don’t think so Adara” Hari shook his head. I sighed and lay back down in frustration. Hari was carrying bowl of plain rice and a glass of water. He put them down on my side table before joining me on the bed. I winced at the movement as he got settled.

“Is Kato alright? He seemed kind of upset earlier” I asked.

“You’re seriously worried about other people right now? And of course he was upset, you could have died”

“But I didn’t”

“That’s not the point Adara” Hari sighed. “Regardless, I’m just glad you’re okay”

“Okay? I’m not okay, someone tried to kill Aegean and almost succeeded”

“But they didn’t” Hari teased, mocking my earlier words. I rolled my eyes, I guess I deserved that.

“Speaking of the little Prince, are you feeling up to some visitors?” Hari asked.

“Visitors?”

“You’ll see. I’ll be right back” Hari eased himself off of the bed and left the room. He strode back into the room, carrying Laila on his hip, followed by Aegean and Luna. He put Laila on the bed next to me. She curled up beside me and carefully clung to my arm.

“I’m so sorry Adara! This is all my fault” Aegean exclaimed, throwing himself dramatically at the end of the bed.

“Don’t be ridiculous” I told him. Luna hung back, standing against the far wall. I flashed back to her leaning over me. Fear glittering in her sun like eyes. Her hair flowing down over me like a pale waterfall. Her strong hands holding the life inside of me. Her voice telling me to stay with her.

“Adara?” Aegean said. I snapped back to the present.

“Sorry what?” From the way everyone was looking at me I must have been staring a bit longer than I meant to.

“I asked when you’d be better enough to come back to the castle. Luna never lets me do anything fun”

“Well as long as she’s keeping you safe, then that’s all that matters right now. And I’m sure I’ll be better before you know it” I reassured him.

“That’s right kid, Adara’s not gonna let a little arrow keep her down for long” Hari agreed.

“A punctured lung is not something that should be taken lightly” Luna muttered to herself. Ah, that would explain my difficulty breathing. I glared at Hari. He and Kato hadn’t told me that part.

“Hey kiddos, I bought some new crayons with your names on them” Hari said in a light voice, Laila’s ears pricked at that. She let go of my arm and made grabby hands at Hari. He lifted her up and gave me a look of feigned innocence.

“Cool!” Aegean followed him out of the room. I wished I could have gone with them. My heart rate picked up as I realized I was about to be stuck here alone with Luna. Our eyes met for a moment before I glanced away. She cleared her throat and sat on the chair that Kato had used earlier. This was weird. Luna was in my bedroom. This was really weird.

“Thanks for bringing Aegean to visit” I broke first.

“I was worried he’d try to come alone so...” Luna trailed off.

“Right.” That certainly sounded like Aegean.

“Do you know who tried to kill him?” We asked at the same time.

“I’ll take that as a no” she smiled. It hit me that I had never really seen her smile before. It was... kinda nice.

“I was supposed to do it. I was supposed to help kill Aegean” I don’t know why I just admitted that.

“What stopped you?” Luna asked gently, after the surprise faded from her eyes.

“I don’t know. I just don’t have it in me anymore”

“Maybe you didn’t see him as a target. Maybe you saw him as a child, someone worth protecting. Perhaps motherhood has made you soft Adara”

“Soft?” I wasn’t sure I liked the sound of that.

“Well, a little more empathic at least”

“I wish I could blame it all on that” I sighed.

“Why can’t you?” Luna questioned. Before I could respond, Aegean burst into the room followed closely by Laila. I was grateful for the interruption as they showed me their drawings enthusiastically. I guess Luna wasn’t so bad, but I wasn’t ready to talk about him with her.

#thebluekingdomstory #my writing #ocs #original story #adaras story #part 32 #adara pace #luna vo #aegean rush #kato larsen #book 1 lonely shadows

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kidsviral-blog · 6 years

Text

Guardian blames global warming for new generation of child brides in Africa

New Post has been published on https://kidsviral.info/guardian-blames-global-warming-for-new-generation-of-child-brides-in-africa/

Guardian blames global warming for new generation of child brides in Africa

Just four paragraphs into her Guardian piece on African child brides, Gethin Chamberlain writes, “Everyone has their own idea of what climate change looks like.”

That doesn’t sound very scientific, but she goes on:

For some, it’s the walrus struggling to find space on melting ice floes on Blue Planet II. For others, it’s an apocalyptic vision of cities disappearing beneath the waves. But for more and more girls across Africa, the most palpable manifestation of climate change is the baby in their arms as they sit watching their friends walk to school.

We’ve already heard theories that climate change has been instrumental in the formation of ISIS and created waves of climate refugees, and now we’re hearing that climate change is responsible for young girls being married off in Africa.

Why climate change is creating a new generation of child brides https://t.co/MiyBxcG7kH

— The Guardian (@guardian) November 26, 2017

UNICEF USA picked up on the piece, and its tweet was retweeted by Chelsea Clinton, so expect to hear plenty more about child brides and climate change — what meteorologists would more accurately call, “weather.”

This is NOT ok: Around 1.5 million girls in #Malawi are at risk of #ChildMarriage due to #ClimateChange, the @guardian reports. https://t.co/huA7k185KK

— UNICEF USA (@UNICEFUSA) November 27, 2017

“As global warming exacerbates drought and floods…”

This is a real tweet. 😞 https://t.co/pi9aRALis8

— E Deploribus Awesome (@Citizen_USA1) November 27, 2017

Climate change? Really?

— BEAR (@streetbear57) November 27, 2017

Wow, this is so unscientific , pure hysteria, how can you retweet this crap with a straight face

— Nicholas T. Charlton (@nick_charlton) November 27, 2017

They're blaming child marriage on the fucking WEATHER now? Please get here soon as you can, SMOD, and put us out of our misery once and for all. This level of stupidity is getting to be unbearable! 😢 https://t.co/xgB8iIpPcp

— The Cat Who Knocks at Midnight 🐱‍💻 (@Bobcat665) November 27, 2017

AGENDA Anyone??!! Climate Change = Child Brides!! Get the f*!# out of ere with that bullshit. Your article is trying to tug at peoples emotions and use it for your agenda!! Unfollowed!!

— Ryan Bayliss (@RyanBayliss11) November 26, 2017

Far-fetched to blame climate change rather than archaic traditions/religions.

— 🚀 (@promethxus) November 26, 2017

It’s caused by the weather. Jeez. Not sick old men from archaic cultures. No. That has nothing to do with it. It’s the weather.

— Fred Black (@fredblack007) November 26, 2017

But not because of the Quran saying so? Hmmm. Interesting.

— The Voice of Reason (@Hart_CVX) November 27, 2017

Would be intersting to identify the religious identity of those encouraging child brides before blaming climate change? https://t.co/y6g6Fjl771

— Sy (@syboat) November 26, 2017

Now do Islam. https://t.co/KPXFdkedCy

— John Groves (@jfgroves) November 26, 2017

Fake news blames Climate Change for child marriage when it's actually because of Islam. Quran 65:4 CLEARLY STATES a Muslim man can marry a girl who has yet to menstruate, but muh Climate Change https://t.co/qKjl1tynBK

— Cristina Laila (@cristinalaila1) November 27, 2017

Wow! You guys are absolutely effing mental, you know that? Just when I think that you cannot come up with any more bullshit drivel, you print this. Yes..yes…climate change is also the main cause for FGM in North Africa 🤔Bloody idiots.

— Lee Cartwright (@fulgore1973) November 26, 2017

Umm this is nothing new for this region and has very little, if anything to do with climate change. Selling their children has always been practiced there to support the family. Maybe birth control is the answer.

— lilith11 (@mythicalangel9) November 26, 2017

Why smoking crack makes you write shit newspaper articles @newsandpics

— Snozzle Banger (@SnozzleBanger) November 26, 2017

In other news. Why record breaking temperatures have contributed towards ISIS throwing more gays off buildings this summer. #ClimateChange 🙈

— Snozzle Banger (@SnozzleBanger) November 26, 2017

if ( (window.__aa_fraud_serve === undefined) || (window.__aa_fraud_serve == true) ) googletag.cmd.push(function () googletag.display(“div-gpt-300x250_1”); );

Read more: https://twitchy.com/brettt-3136/2017/11/27/guardian-blames-global-warming-for-new-generation-of-child-brides-in-africa/

#africa #child brides #Climate Change #global warming #guardian #islam

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thebluekingdomstory · 5 years

Text

Adara’s story part twenty seven

I left Laila with Hari for a little while longer so I could accompany Kato to the border. Chi led us through the forest in their lion form, Kato and I transformed as well to be as quick as possible. The green and white forest blurred around me as we ran. My ears pricked as I heard someone pursuing us. I whipped back my head to see Noriko running after us.

“Noriko, what are you doing here?” I called back to him.

“I heard about the intruders, I want to help” he responded, catching up to me. It was too late to argue, we were already nearing the border. We slowed as we reached it. I sighted the rest of Chi’s patrol first, waiting for us, and then across the border stood three unfamiliar Nekojin. They were all in human form, as if to see seem less threatening. They were definitely from the mountains, all dressed in heavy winter cloaks lined with dark brown fur. Kato and the others shifted out of cat form and I reluctantly followed suit. One of the intruders stepped forward but stopped as I growled in warning. She had medium length brown hair and almond shaped violet eyes. Her stance exuded confidence and she kept a hand resting casually on the sword on her side.

“Which one of you is the alpha of this pack?” She demanded.

“That would be me” Kato stepped forward. The woman nodded respectfully to him.

“My name is Elda Mir, I’m the alpha of the Coldpeak pack to the north”

“Mir?” Kato echoed quickly. I recognized the name too, but I couldn’t place it.

“I’m Kato Larsen. What can we do for you?” Kato asked, louder this time.

“Let’s get right to it then, I have a proposition for you and your pack. Due to some… recent events, my pack is in need of some new blood. I’d like to offer you the chance to join your pack with mine”

“Recent events” Noriko scoffed beside me.

“Noriko?” Elda exclaimed in surprise, “so this is where you ran off to”

“You know her?” I asked.

“Unfortunately, yes. I was apart of the Coldpeak pack”

“Unfortunately? That is no way to speak of your home” Elda chided.

“Former home” Noriko muttered.

“Back to the matter at hand, Kato. I urge you to consider my offer. Nekojin are perfectly fitted to life in the mountains” Elda continued.

“You want us to go back to the mountains with you? I’m sorry Elda but I can’t agree to that” Kato apologized.

“Think about it, our territory is vast, and the hunting is always good. Our prey isn’t so easily scared by the cold. You wouldn’t have to worry about your restricting borders or dealing with a kingdom of humans” Elda urged. I felt panic rising in my chest. Kato wouldn’t actually consider this, would he?

“I empathize with your situation, but I can’t ask my pack to abandon their home”

“Very well. We’ll go. Noriko, come back home with us. Noelle misses you greatly”

“I can’t. You know I can’t. Just tell her I miss her, please” Noriko couldn’t meet his former alpha’s eyes. The disappointment was clear on her face, but she nodded to him. My body finally relaxed as three turned and headed north. Even though they were leaving, I had a feeling this wouldn’t be the last we heard from the Coldpeak pack.

___

It had been a few days since the confrontation at the border. I was watching Sable practice her knife throwing. We hadn’t been able to train that morning, so we were met in the evening today.

“May I join you?” A voice sounded from behind him. I turned to see Noriko standing there. I gestured him over.

“Did Elda really think Kato would join packs with her?” I asked, making an attempt at conversation.

“She speaks!” Noriko teased. “And Elda has a way of getting what she wants, one way or another” he continued darkly.

“That’s not ominous or anything. So why did you leave?”

“Trust me, you would’ve too”

I gave him a dissatisfied look.

“Look, Elda’s a great alpha, in theory. Determined, courageous, even compassionate when she wants to be. But I’m much happier following someone like Kato. Someone who wants what’s best for his pack and puts them above his own ambitions. Not to say Elda didn’t have our best interests at heart, she can just take her… beliefs a bit far” he explained. I nodded slowly. I could understand that, as far I was concerned, Kato was a great alpha and I wouldn’t trade him for the world. There were clearly some details Noriko was omitting as to why he left his home, but I couldn’t really blame him, I hadn’t exactly been the most welcoming. We watched in silence for a moment. Listening the sound of the blades hitting the tree and Sable grunting in concentration. A warm breeze blew by us and I couldn’t help but smile. Maybe spring was finally around the corner. Noriko on the other hand, didn’t look so pleased.

“Not a fan of the warmer weather?” I asked, pointing to his frown.

“Just not used to it I suppose, winter here is already so much warmer than in the mountains. I cannot imagine what it’ll be like in spring. What about you?”

“I like the spring, not to warm not to cold” I shrugged.

“No no no, it’s all about summer!” Sable cut in, throwing her last knife, “every other season here is way to cold”

“Here? Are you not from the Pinewood pack?” Noriko asked.

“Nu uh. I was born in the desert, where it’s a much more reasonable temperature. My sister and I have only lived in the Blue Kingdom for a couple years now”

My eyebrows went up in surprise. I hadn’t known that. I mean I knew Sable wasn’t from this pack, but I guess I had assumed she had been born in the Kingdom.

“What brought you and your sister here?” Noriko asked before I could stop him. The news of desert massacres clearly hadn’t reached that far north. The desert used to be home to three packs much like around the Blue Kingdom. A pack of Kitsune, Bounders and of course Nekojin. In the past couple of years, all three had been destroyed by an unknown force.

“Sable, we should finish up training” I broke in to save her from answering what I assumed was a sensitive topic. Judging by the thankful look on her face I had come to the right conclusion. I gave Noriko a look to urge him not to push it, I could explain later.

#thebluekingdomstory #my wriring #original story #ocs #adara's story #adara pace #hari grey #kato larsen #laila pace #noriko turiel #sable nobu #elda mir #book 1 lonely shadows

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